The president of Senegal's decision to appoint a local architect, renowned for his work but notorious for his political schmoozing with previous regimes, as the head of a proposed Senegalese cultural house in New York has come under fire.

Unveiled in 2010, the monument was blasted by Wade opponents at the time as a scandalous waste of money in the midst of an economic crisis in Senegal.

The selection of Atépa, who also served as a special adviser for other major government projects under Wade, for such a high-profile post has some questioning President Sall's promises of a “new era”[7] [en] post-Wade.

[8]

The African Renaissance Statue designed by Pierre Goudiaby Atépa, from Wikipedia. CC-BY-SA

This is the first big issue in the Macky era which raises several questions for me. Light must be shed on this matter, which has the stench of a financial/real estate scandal. What was the role of the architect? If he really was sent by the President to New York, on behalf of what and under what conditions? What is the National Assembly waiting for to take the matter up and inform the public?

This is a public fraud. The people are silent, they let themselves be fooled. How has the money been disbursed without clear notice of approval from the National Assembly and the Senegalese people? Goudiaby seeks validation from his dubious project. It is a case where one can see the scam from a thousand miles away. We need a national petition against this project and the money that it requires. This accord insults the collective intelligence of the Senegalese, robbing them of their money and enriching few individuals …

Bounkhatab pointed out that the presidency's preference for elaborate and expensive artistic endeavors continues with Sall:

From what I know, this land is already bought and paid for by the Wade-era Senegalese State at a high price. Question: What does the current Senegalese government need to do? It is like the Renaissance statue, it was complete nonsense, but the next in charge had to make something of it. This is what we would call the continuation of business as usual.

Our president recycles because he lacks vision. The programme Yonou Yokouté (the path to Development) is just fluff. He thinks he can feed us with big promises and speeches, just like his mentor used to do. Real change has became a pipe dream for us.

We fought for nothing! We'll have to go back to the drawing board. What I felt is that now in Dakar, Sall is currently recruiting anyone who supported his re-election. He gave us suave speeches when in fact he reuses the Wade Method.

[3] creation of a house of Senegal in the Big Apple: http://www.dakaractu.com/Le-maintien-de-la-maison-du-Senegal-a-New-York-est-une-grave-erreur-dans-la-situation-economique-actuelle-du-pays_a38059.html